Dances with Delilah
by Laitie
Summary: Obvs, there's an OC in here. Be warned. I've merely given Kenshin and crew a new enemy to deal with. She's cunning, sly, and all other words with that meaning. And rich, of course. Read as Kenshin tries to grapple with this strange woman from the west, whose only interest seems to be in testing him.
1. Chapter 1

**_OC WARNING OC WARNING OC WARNING_**

 ** _A/N: As I said, there is an OC in here. Now, she seems like a Mary-Sue. I promise you, there's a reason WHY she's uber-beautiful, "perfect," friendly, etc. She's not a Mary-Sue, I promise. So bear with me. You'll learn why she seems like a Mary-Sue eventually._**

 ** _I have a rule. No reviews, no updates. If you like it at all, please review. I'm also up for suggestions._**

 ** _Rated T for language_**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

* * *

It started as a normal day at Akabeko. Well, not totally normal. Sano, Yahiko, Kaoru, and Kenshin were all at the restaurant, celebrating Kenshin and Kaoru's engagement. They had just sat down and shared the news with their friend and waitress, Tae.

"Have you made any plans yet?" Tae asked excitedly.

"No," Kaoru said with a giggle. She sat at the head of the table, farthest away from Tae. "It just happened this afternoon."

"Did you propose, Kenshin? Like the westerners do?"

Kenshin smirked. He sat at Kaoru's left hand side, holding her hand in both of his. "No, Kaoru and this one sort of agreed on it."

"Aw, but that's-"

"Tae!" The restaurant manager came rushing over to them, looking frantic. "Tae! A very important customer is coming! We must clear the restaurant!"

"Who's so important that you have to clear the restaurant?" Yahiko asked.

"Delilah Dixon!" The manager huffed.

"Who?" Sano asked.

"You don't know Delilah Dixon? She's the richest westerner we've ever had visit! She just came into town yesterday, and she's chosen us to serve her dinner! Now shoo!"

"Oh, don't make them leave just because of me." Everyone turned to see a perfect, blond-haired, blue-eyed western woman. Her yellow hair had perfect ringlets and was pulled up off her neck in a western hairstyle. But she wore a bright blue kimono with white flowers and a white obi. Her eyes sparkled in excitement as she grinned at everyone. Even Kenshin had to admit, she was gorgeous.

Behind her, Kenshin saw an African man with straight, black hair. His face was clean-shaven, his hair kept it a neat pony-tail at his nape. He stood with his arms crossed, his black eyes showing boredom and disinterest.

As everyone else was recovering from the shock of her appearance-as no one had seen her enter-a look of interest flashed through the woman's eyes as she noticed Kenshin's sword at his waist. But Kenshin was the only one to notice the instantaneous look.

"Dixon-dono," the store manager said, bowing, "please, forgive me. I did not know you were here already. Let me get you your own table." He glared over Kenshin's group.

"Oh, please," Delilah said before the manager could leave. She turned to the group at the table. "Maybe you could make room for two more? As friendly as everyone is here, it's hard to make any actual friends."

"Two?" Yahiko asked.

"Yes, of course," Kaoru said, gesturing for Sano to move over at her right hand side.

"Thank you so much," Delilah said, motioning for the man accompanying her to go in first. Now that Kenshin could see his body, he could tell that this man did not share the same interest as the woman in assimilating with Japanese culture. He wore a white, western top and western pants and shoes. He slipped off his black shoes and crawled to a spot at the table.

"Shall I get you a chair, Dixon-dono?" the manager asked.

"No, don't trouble yourself," Delilah said. "We've been practicing sitting on our knees for months!" At Delilah's bidding, Tae and the manager left to take care of other customers.

"Why are you wearing a kimono?" Yahiko asked Delilah as she slipped off her okobo and kneeled at her place.

"Yahiko!" Kaoru chastized him.

Delilah grinned. "I am fascinated by this country," she replied. "It's so different from all the other countries I have visited. I loved the idea of at least trying to assimilate."

"How many countries have you visited?" Kaoru asked.

"Oh, I can't count," Delilah said. "I've been all over Europe. And to the Americas a couple times. I love to travel."

"Well, we're glad you've come," Kaoru said politely. She proceeded to introduce the group to the rich western woman and the man accompanying her.

"It's wonderful to meet you all," Delilah said. "I'm Delilah Dixon. Or, perhaps, I should say Dixon Delilah, correct? Because Dixon is my family name?" She shook her head with a grin and gestured to the man accompanying her. "And this is my right-hand man, Poison."

"Poison?" Yahiko asked. "That's a weird name."

"I earned it." Poison's voice was low, his gaze dark as he glared at Yahiko. Fearless though he was, Yahiko realized he did not want to piss this man off.

"Earned it how?" Sano asked, not on the receiving end of Poison's glare. The African man looked up at the tall, Japanese man. But his glare was not the same.

"But that's a story for another time," Delilah said. That was when Tae came back to take their orders. Once they were taken, Tae bowed at the group and left to put the orders in.

"What brings you to Japan, Dixon-dono?" Kenshin asked.

"Please, call me Delilah," she said. "I've never been to a country where people looked and acted different from me. Well, except for the Americas. But most of the natives were pretty well, as they say, 'civilized' by the time I got there. I was interested to see what it was like."

"So we're not 'civilized'?" Yahiko asked. Again, he received a glare from Poison and a "Yahiko!" from Kaoru. But Delilah just chuckled.

"If that's how you would like to put it," she said.

"Poison, are you from Europe, too?" Kenshin asked.

Poison shook his head. "Egypt," he said.

"I found him in Greece, though," Delilah said.

"You like to travel, too?" Kaoru asked the man. He remained silent a moment.

"Yes," Delilah said, though there was a look of mischief in her eyes. "He had no family, no money, no direction in life. So I employed him as . . . well . . ." Delilah thought a moment as she looked over at Poison. "I guess the best phrase for his job is my right-hand man." She grinned at them. "He travels with me and takes care of sorts of little things about my life that would just drive me insane."

"Like what?" Yahiko asked.

"Well, as you can imagine, I'm an aristocrat. I was born into wealth. So I'm not used to dealing with things like, say, groceries. He runs the servants around the house, is rather like a body-guard to me, keeps me company, among many more tasks. And he still finds time to educate himself with textbooks!" She grinned at him, almost looking like a proud mother. He didn't grin, though. His face was like stone.

"What do you study?" Sano asked.

"The human body," Poison said.

"Is that where you got your name?" Yahiko asked.

"You're a smart boy," Delilah praised Yahiko. "That's . . . Part of how he got his name."

Finally, the food came, and everyone ate in silence for a few minutes.

"What brings you all to Akabeko?" Delilah asked.

Kenshin and Kaoru grinned at each other. "We just got engaged," Kaoru said.

"You did not!" Delilah gasped. "That's wonderful! Congratulations, both of you!"

"Thank you," Kaoru said.

"Oh, you must have a better celebration than a dinner at Akabeko! I don't know about here, but in the west, we have entire parties dedicated to engagement announcements."

"We don't need that much," Kaoru said.

"Are you sure?" Delilah said. "I would love to host a party for you two. Not only will it be more fitting to your situation, it would give me an excuse to meet more Japanese people around here. I could invite the important people in town as well as all your friends and family. It would be wonderful. Please, let me throw you two a party."

Kenshin and Kaoru looked at each other as they thought. They hardly knew this woman. But she seemed friendly enough. And they hadn't actually announced their engagement to any of their friends, yet. Perhaps it would be fun.

With a small nod from Kaoru, Kenshin spoke. "Thank you, Delilah-dono. Kaoru and this one would love that."


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Thanks for the reviews!_**

 ** _Things are getting pretty fantastic around here. No, really. I'm adding magic to the story. I forgot to mention that before. Sorry! I hope you enjoy, though!_**

* * *

The next day, Kenshin and Kaoru found their way to her house on the other side of Tokyo.

"It's huge," Kaoru said as the two stared up in awe at the mansion from the gate. It was, of course, very western-looking. From the bricks to the square, paned windows. So much for trying to assimilate.

"She did mention she was born into wealth," Kenshin said with a nod.

"Yeah, but...WOW!"

He chuckled. "Come, we must not keep her waiting."

Just as Kenshin lifted his hand to knock on the wrought-iron bars, someone came out of the house. Slowly, Poison made his way toward the gate and unlocked it with his key before pulling it open and letting them in.

"How did you...?" Kaoru tried to ask.

"I saw you standing there," Poison said.

"Oh," Kaoru said with a nod, watching him close and lock the gate back up. She raised her eyebrows curiously, but thought it'd be rude to say something.

"We hear that people here are more respectful of other people's things," Poison explained anyway, leading them to the front door. "But Ms. Dixon is still firm on keeping her things and grounds locked up tight. I don't blame her."

'Well, they are from the west,' Kaoru thought, shrugging at Kenshin. He grinned at her and turned back to Poison.

Once inside, Poison had to turn around again to be sure that the front door was locked.

Kaoru looked around the foyer. "Shall we leave our shoes here?" she asked.

Poison shook his head. "Ms. Dixon has kept the house very western. You can keep them on." Kaoru and Kenshin frowned, but awkwardly accepted it.

Poison then went ahead of them again and led them through the foyer into a sitting room.

 _BANG!_

Kaoru and Kenshin flinched at the sudden sound, but Poison remained calm. Though his face twisted into a mix of embarrassment and thoughtfulness.

"Excuse me," he said. "Ms. Dixon will be here in just a moment." With that, he bowed to them and walked out of the room through a different door.

"What do you think that was?" Kaoru asked her fiance.

Kenshin shrugged. "This one is not sure. But it seems to be a common occurrence in this house, considering how Poison-dono reacted."

Kaoru nodded and looked around the room. It was just as western as the outside had been. There were plush, blue armchairs and couches everywhere. The wood on them had been polished so it almost looked golden. On the wall to their right was a huge window with white panes. Blue curtains adorned it. Ahead of them was a fireplace with a painting of some woman over the mantle. The woman had red hair and blue eyes, and wore a beautiful green gown adorned with white lace. She held a white fan at her side. In the middle of the couches by the fireplace sat a low-to-the-ground table, and Kaoru wondered why they had a Japanese-style table surrounded by couches. To the left of the fireplace was the door that Poison had left through.

The wall to their left held more paintings of women and more doors. A few of the paintings were children, of both genders, playing or sitting on Delilah's lap.

The floor was adorned with an intricately-decorated, persian rug.

She paused in her investigation when they heard the clicking of heels coming towards the door on the far wall. The footsteps sounded hurried, and Kaoru couldn't help but grab Kenshin's hand nervously.

Finally, the footsteps stopped. Kenshin heard someone take a deep breath behind the door before it opened, Delilah gleefully standing on the other side.

This was a slightly different Delilah from before. She wore a blue dress with white lace. She had rogue on her face, jewelry, and her hair was up, but slightly askew. Nonetheless, she appeared as friendly and welcoming as before.

She threw her hands out and walked into the room. "Kenshin-san! Kaoru-san! I'm so glad you made it!" she said, heading towards them. If there was any doubt, the clicking of her shoes on the wood floor before she reached the rug told them that she had been the one hurriedly coming towards the room.

"It's great to see you," Kaoru said with a grin. "Thank you for having us over."

"Oh, of course," Delilah said. "We have to sort out all the details for the party next week. Now, come. Sit! We have much to discuss."

After taking a moment to lead them to the couches and showing them how to sit on them properly, Delilah pulled out paper and pen from the bottom of the coffee table in front of them. "Now, who are we inviting?" she asked.

The three set to work on party preparations. Once they reached a break, Kaoru sat back and looked up at the painting above the mantle.

"Who is that in that painting?" Kaoru asked.

Delilah grinned and, without looking up, replied, "That's my daughter, Rose."

Kenshin and Kaoru's eyes widened. Delilah looked no older than 21! How could she have a daughter in her teens, like the one in the painting? "She is beautiful," Kenshin said once he recovered.

Delilah nodded, not seeming to have noticed the pause. "Yes, she is."

"Where is she now?" Kaoru asked.

"Back in England. She lives with her husband and family."

Again, Kenshin and Kaoru couldn't help but look at each other with wide eyes. Rose wasn't a teenager, she was a full-blown woman! With children!

"Forgive this one, Delilah-dono," Kenshin said, "but you do not look old enough to have a woman such as Rose-dono as a daughter."

Delilah chuckled. "There's a reason for that," she said. Kaoru and Kenshin waited patiently.

When she didn't offer an explanation, Kaoru spoke. "What's the reason?" she asked.

Delilah laughed. "Here's a hint. I was born in the year 1621." She paused to let them think about that and figure out how long ago that was. "Today, it is the year 1879," she offered.

"Wait, you're over 200 years old!?" Kaoru asked.

"Ms. Dixon," Poison said, entering the room from one of the side doors. He held a document in his hand as he hurriedly walked over to them.

"Poison," Delilah said, "you can see I am busy-"

"It's urgent." He reached them and thrust the document into her lap. Her eyes ran over the western wording quickly. When she finished, she placed her hands on her lap, over the document, and smiled at Kenshin and Kaoru.

"It seems something has come up that I really must attend to right now," she said. "I think I have everything I need for the party. If not, I will send Poison to retrieve what I need. Thank you both for coming, and, again, congratulations!"

With that, she stood and left the stunned couple, walking through the door Poison had come from.

"What was that about?" Kaoru asked.

"None of your business," Poison said. Kaoru sniffed at his rudeness and stood.

"I guess we've been dismissed," Kaoru said.

"It seems we have," Kenshin agreed, standing beside her.

"And right after we found out...Poison-san?" Kaoru turned to Delilah's right-hand-man. "Did you know that Delilah-dono was 200 years old?"

"258," Poison corrected her. "Come, I'll show you to the door."

Shocked once again, and offered no further explanation, Kaoru and Kenshin silently followed Poison to the front door.


End file.
